Korean dramas are watched by people all around the world. They can be so addicting! If you are visiting Korea and really want to get a glimpse of one being filmed we recommend going to Sangam DMC in Seoul. This is where all the big networks are and they often use the surrounding area for filming. Scenes that are supposed to be set in the evening are often filmed at 2am on the empty streets. But we’ve seen plenty of scenes filmed around 10 or 11pm. Many car scenes are filmed at night, but we caught one being filmed during the middle of the day. Because Korean dramas are filmed so quickly and the show starts being shown on TV before the filming is even finished, you may actually catch one you are currently watching being filmed.

He tries to say that he doesn’t watch Korean dramas, but he does sometimes. He has been binge watching the drama ‘Oh My Ghostess’. He disappeared for several hours last night and I eventually found him watching it. I had been resting after my operation and was stumbling around trying to find him.

Health Update: I’m still recovering from my operation and just waiting on pathology results to see if the cysts they removed were cancerous. At this point the doctor says it’s unlikely they are, which is good news.

We answer your questions about Korean dramas. There is always lots more to say on all these topics, but never enough time. If you’d like us to elaborate more on a certain answer just leave a comment and we’ll try to reply.

Some extra thoughts:

I really do feel that schools can vary a lot based on where the school is and the type of school. Hugh definitely had a more wild time at school than I did, even though I went to school in Australia. His school was considered more of a technical high school where students weren’t going to go to top universities anyway. He literally drank alcohol on school grounds. In this area we can see that teenagers are probably way more promiscuous too. We’ve been in restaurants where teenagers next to us were talking about sexual things in a very crass way. Compare that to many other schools where people are very shy around the opposite sex. Especially if someone goes to an all boys school, or all girls school. When we did this video with Jongdae he talked about just never even having the opportunity to meet girls. Hugh says lack of students and money means that the highschool in this area was co-ed and there was less pressure on students to study hard, so teenagers end up being…. teenagers. There is some truth in teenagers in dramas being ridiculously awkward, but when people in their 20’s are like that, it’s super unrealistic.

Also, of course not every guy is going to be doing an “event” for his girlfriend, but it’s completely normal if a guy does. Korea also has that push and pull idea with dating which means that guys are expected to be very persistent if they really like the girl.

Were any of these answers in the video surprising to you?

Korea is an awesome place, but how some people in the international Kpop and Kdrama communities talk about Korea can more harm than good. Of course Korean tourism plays a part as well. We’ve heard of people coming to Korea and expecting to meet a rich handsome guy exactly like in a drama and when that doesn’t happen, they go back to their own country angry and disappointed and hating Korea. We get a lot of emails and messages, and many of them are worrying to us because of the high pedestal some people place Korea on. I know that many of you have a very balanced view of Korea, so you might be surprised that there are people with such extreme ideas about Korea, but we are seeing it more and more. In particular, I think people from countries where they may lack a sufficient education are particularly at risk, as they lack the skills to research and understand on their own. It’s easy to get caught up in the glitz and glamor that is presented internationally about Korea, which can lead to disappointment in the long run.

For international Kpop fans, they may be surprised to hear how little people actually listen to Kpop. There are the huge groups that people know about, but mostly Kpop is for teenage girls, and even then those girls will have one favourite group, not several. It’s odd to many Koreans when they see international Kpop fans liking so many groups at the same time. It may be hard for some fans to hear but your favourite Kpop group may attract very little attention in Korea. That’s why some Kpop stars go onto TV shows, because it’s a much bigger platform for them to attract attention that may trickle down to the Kpop group they are in. That’s not to say that there is no Kpop in Korea, you’ll hear it all the time, being played in stores and you’ll see the bigger groups in advertising and of course you may have the chance to go to a concert, but Korea is not magical Kpop land.

We talked about many other things in this video but had to cut a lot. One thing we had to cut but will talk about later is how the international community talks about Korean military service and the problems with that.

Let us know what other stereotypes are always in Korean dramas. Also let us know if you want us to talk more about Korean dramas, in particular about what some things mean in the context of Korean society.

Been dealing with some health problems recently which is why we missed Friday’s comic and video. Sorry guys!

And here is the vlog of the day on our vlogging channel.

Chai lattes aren’t always that easy to get in Korea. Because I don’t drink coffee and prefer chai lattes I’m always looking for which places have them. Starbucks and Ediya Coffee are two big chains that have them. Let me know if you know of any others! Since we live in the countryside I can only really get them from bigger chains that are everywhere.

Han and Hugh talk about how “I like you” in Korean can mean more than what it means in English and why characters in Korean dramas often say “I like you” instead of “I love you”.

You’ve probably seen this in Korean dramas. The scene where the guy comes up behind the girl to help or get something and it means their bodies can get really close! Ohhh tension!

Not so sexy when parents-in-law are right near you.